Farmgirl Follies

RC cola & a moon pie

Posted by Farmgirl on December 3, 2009  |  No Comments

Actually, it was Diet Coke.
I do not like RC cola. And there was no pie … just the moon. A big, beautiful, December moon that began to rise as the last of the day’s light filtered through the tops of the trees. Beautiful.

Howling at the new moon

Posted by Farmgirl on November 21, 2009  |  7 Comments

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.” ~ Mae West

One of my favorite things to do is spend time with like-minded women who enjoy basking in silliness even though some think them ridiculous. Are we old enough to know better? Sure. Do we run the risk of appearing off our rockers? Possibly. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

 

 

On Thursday I boarded the Chateau, above, dressed in a green Kiss Me, I’m Irish T-shirt and a fake alpaca-fur cape. My hair was in its natural state of reddish, curly disarray. My fingernails were painted black. No, it’s not my typical attire. I was in character, you see … Victoria the vampire.

An aunt, various cousins, friends and my sister headed to Tinseltown for the midnight showing of New Moon. We arrived about 7:30 p.m. Enjoyed red velvet cupcakes with frosted fangs. Enjoyed a few cocktails and dished about our favorite characters from the movie. Admired the movie posters taped inside the camper.

We laughed until we cried. We cried until we laughed. It was very emotional.

First, let me just say that the movie was awesome. Fabulous, actually. But that’s  not what this post is about. I want to point out how important it is to NOT take yourself too seriously. As it turned out, the others in my party did not wear their costumes. So what? I made a teenage girl in the long, long line shriek, “LOOK! She’s Victoria!” And really, that’s all I needed to confirm and justify my own stupidity. Everyone should be so lucky.

Women and girls stood outside the RV taking photos of our banners.  A local restaurant delivered pizza to our party in the parking lot. It was wonderful.

Hundreds, possibly thousands of women and girls, united by a zest for life. A willingness to be just a little addicted to romantic stories of fictional vampires and werewolves. Even a midnight movie and a 45-minute drive home in the dark at 3 a.m. could not quell my satisfaction and sense of joy. Every once in awhile it’s good to step outside your typical routine and do something that’s purely playful and ok, childlike.

Life is too short. You know the familiar phrase: Live well, laugh often, love much.

And to that I would add, wholeheartedly and with great fervor.

Holy cow, that’s mighty tasty!

Posted by Farmgirl on November 12, 2009  |  4 Comments

 

 

Sometimes I do not want to cook. Every night. For five people.

What to do? Make this brisket.

Why? Two reasons:

1) If you prepare a four-five pound brisket, it will feed your starving offspring and hungry husband for at least three days and you can sit around and file your fingernails or watch afternoon stories or read New Moon for the umpteenth time or whatever it is you like to do.

2) It’s mouthwatering. Truly. It’s Truly Scrumptious (Quick! Name the movie with the character, Truly Scrumptious. But then go make this brisket!)

 

Farmgirl’s Beef Brisket

(Recipe actually belongs to these folks. It’s the best recipe I’ve found — and I’ve made a lot of brisket!)

Ingredients:
2 pounds Certified Angus Beef ^® brand brisket
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
6 ounces chili sauce
1/2 cup beer
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine garlic and pepper; spread evenly over brisket.
2. Separate onion into rings; arrange over brisket. Combine chili sauce, beer, Worcestershire sauce and sugar; pour over brisket and onions.
3. Cover and cook 2 hours. Turn brisket over; stir onions into sauce and spoon over brisket. Cover; cook 2 hours more or until fork tender.
4. Transfer brisket to cutting board. Slice on the bias across the grain.

 

I started with a 4.5-pound brisket, so I doubled the ingredients in this recipe. Spray the pan. Then add brisket, fat side up.

 

 

 

I minced the garlic and then sliced an extra-large onion.

 

 

 

Add pepper to the garlic, then rub all over the meat. Then cover with sliced onions.

 

 

 

Pour chili sauce into a bowl and add beer.

 

 

 

I happened to have Heinz Chili Sauce in the pantry. Yuengling is a very tasty beer, but it’s not readily available in this neck of the woods. Farmguy stocked up on our recent trip to Pennsylvania. Like beer? Try Yuengling. It’s America’s oldest brewery!

 

 

 

Add Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.

 

 

 

Now pour it on … literally. Then cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for two hours.

 

 

 

This is what it looks like after two hours. It smells even better! Scrape off all of the onions, turn the brisket over, and then spoon the onions and sauce back on top of the brisket. Put it back in the oven: 350 degrees for two more hours.

 

 

 

If there happened to be a man in the house during cook time, he’s probably been anxiously awaiting the final buzzer of the oven timer. Put him to work slicing!

 

 

 

I’m telling you … it’s incredibly tender. So juicy and flavorful and again I say, truly scrumptious. And remember … this will feed a crowd or a family of five for several days.

 

 

Unless of course they are ravenous carnivores. In that case it will last for dinner, lunch and one sandwich.

Enjoy!

Farmboy gets his groove on

Posted by Farmgirl on October 6, 2009  |  4 Comments

 

Gettin’ down with his bad self. My three-year-old starred in his own dance party this evening. I was listening to Supermassive Black Hole by Muse … YES … from my Twilight soundtrack. Not my usual musical genre, but I have an addiction and I’m not afraid to admit it.

(Here’s the scene from the movie if you want to watch! It’s the Cullen Vampires playing baseball during the thunderstorm.)

Anyway …

 

Farmboy has some smooth moves. It’s too bad not even a belt can hold up his pants. He has no bum. No bum whatsoever.

 

 

 

“Lookie here, Mommy,” he demanded before doing a little twist and shake. Not sure what’s going on with the tongue, there.

 

 

Why do people do weird things with their mouths when dancing? Does it help balance the body? Does it help us breathe? Does it help us concentrate? I wonder … as I wander … over yonder.

Anyway … this is the kind of excitement we have around our place. Well, that and runaway cattle roundups. But this is much, much more fun.

P.S. In a little over a month, the second movie in the Twilight Saga comes to theatres: New Moon. I CAN’T WAIT!!

Ok … enough about my obsession. (But really, you must read the books … then see the movie.)